


It's a Date

by thegizka



Series: Shikamaru Week 2019 [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Best Friends, Friendship, Gen, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 14:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17408963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: Just a few dudes having lunch and reminiscing on the good old days.Written for Shikamaru Week Day 6:  Bonds.





	It's a Date

“Hey Shikamaru, you wanna grab lunch?”

 

He glanced up from the mission report he was reading.  The newest Hokage was sticking his head through the door to his office, beaming expectantly.  Naruto always stopped by around this time with the same question. It was a good way to keep track of how long he had been working.

 

As far as passing the torch events went, the transition between Kakashi and Naruto in the Hokage’s office had been incredibly smooth.  That didn’t mean there hadn’t been an influx of additional work accompanying the process. Records had to be transferred, countless meetings arranged and attended, numerous ambassadorial letters of welcome responded to, and, of course, the ceremony itself had to be planned, all of this on top of the regular activities of the village.  Luckily Naruto had begun his tenure with a diligence he had rarely shown in their academy days.

 

“Yeah okay,” Shikamaru sighed, setting aside the report and stretching as he stood.

 

“Alright!  Want to go to-”

 

“Ichiraku?”

 

“You read my mind,” Naruto grinned.  His friend rolled his eyes as they headed out the door and down the stairs.

 

“Don’t you ever eat anywhere else?”

 

“Sometimes, but there’s nothing as good as Ichiraku Ramen!”

 

“Don’t you think you might be exploiting this free-ramen-for-the-Hokage thing a little bit?”

 

“Of course not!”  He looked a offended.  “I still pay when Hinata and I go there for date nights.”

 

“Do you pay for both of you or just her?”

 

“Both, actually.”

 

“Are you going to pay for me today?”

 

“Shikamaru, I appreciate your interest, but I am happily married and would never cheat on my incredible wife.”

 

“But  _ you’re  _ the one who asked  _ me  _ to lunch.”

 

“But this isn’t a date.”

 

“But friends can pay for each others’ meals.”

 

“Sure, for special occasions, but there’s nothing special about today.  It’s just lunch.”

 

“I’m only saying that it’s a little weird that we’ve known each other for so long and you’ve never bought me lunch.”

 

“Oh yeah?  And when have you ever bought  _ me  _ lunch?”

 

“I haven’t,” Shikamaru admitted, “but I did pay for your share of barbeque last time we had a guys’ night.”

 

“When even was that?  Two months ago?”

 

“Four, actually, and you still haven’t paid me back.”

 

“It couldn’t have been that long ago,” Naruto said, face scrunching up as he tried thinking back on it.  Shikamaru noted that he had ignored the last part about owing him for dinner.

 

“It was.  Lee was wearing those new leg weights he was super excited about, remember?  And Sai and Ino had just celebrated their anniversary.”

 

“Huh, I guess you’re right.”  He gave him a quizzical look. “How do you keep all of that stuff straight?  That seems like a lot of unnecessary information to remember.”

 

“And that’s why I’m considered the smart one out of the two of us.  You never know when information like that might come in handy.”

 

“Knowing Bushy Brows’s leg weights might come in handy?” he asked skeptically.

 

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes.  They had reached Ichiraku. He ducked inside and away from such a stupid question.

 

“Naruto!  It’s good to see ya,” Teuchi greeted happily from behind the counter.  “And Shikamaru! You haven’t stopped by in a while.”

 

“Been busy,” he explained as they slid into seats.

 

“What can I get you?  The usual?”

 

They placed their orders and chatted with Teuchi as he prepared the dishes, asking after his family and sharing in the general gossip of the village.  Naruto was keenly interested in hearing everything he had to say. Shikamaru was always curious to see him interact with villagers when he was off-duty.  He gave people his full attention, listening carefully to what they had to say even if they were complaining. For a guy who enjoyed rushing into things, he could be incredibly patient with people.

 

“Mind if I join?”

 

“Chouji, hey!  It’s been a while.”

 

He slid into the seat next to them, grinning.

 

“I didn’t expect to see you two here.”

 

“Really?”  Naruto laughed.

 

“Okay, maybe you, but not Shikamaru.”

 

“We’re on a date, and he’s paying.”

 

“I didn’t agree to that!”

 

They continued arguing the point jokingly until their food arrived.  Shikamaru had been hungrier than he thought, and Ichiraku Ramen  _ was  _ the best in the village.  Conversation didn’t even cross his mind during the first few delicious bites.

 

“Hey, guess who I just ran into?” Chouji asked suddenly.  The others shot him curious looks and shrugged. “Genma! I haven’t seen him in ages.”

 

“Yeah, I see him once in a while in passing but haven’t really talked to him.  What’s he been up to?”

 

“Who’s Genma?”

 

Shikamaru paused and stared at Naruto.

 

“Genma Shiranui.  He’s a jonin. He used to be one of the Hokage’s bodyguards, but now he works in the records department, I think.”

 

Naruto still looked at them with a blank expression.

 

“Brown hair, wears his headband like a bandanna, keeps a senbon in his mouth because he thinks it looks cool,” Chouji offered, but it didn’t seem to help.  Shikamaru sighed. For someone who was so attentive when listening to others, the new Hokage was pretty bad at remembering people.

 

“He was one of the proctors of our chunin exam, the one who oversaw the one-on-one fights.”

 

“Oh him!”  Finally recognition dawned on him.  “Man, that was a long time ago.”

 

The others exchanged a wry glance.  Of course the memory of battle would spark his recollection.

 

“Man, that was a good time,” he sighed, signalling for another bowl of ramen.

 

“The chunin exams?” Chouji asked skeptically.

 

“Yeah.  It was fun to finally be able to go all out and not have anyone yell at you.”

 

“You realize some people actually died during those exams,” Shikamaru reminded him.

 

“And they ended in Orochimaru attacking the village.”

 

“Of course I didn’t mean that part of it,” Naruto explained, enthusiasm momentarily replaced by the pain of the memories.  “I suppose when you look at it from that angle, they were a bit terrifying.” He took a thoughtful bite of ramen. Shikamaru was almost sorry they had brought it up and dampened his mood.

 

“You know what?” Naruto suddenly exclaimed.  “We should hold a do-over!”

 

“What?”

 

“Well we never finished the exams, right?  So we should hold the rest of the fights and complete the tournament!  It’d be a great excuse to get everyone together, and someone would walk away with bragging rights of being the best shinobi of our class!”  He grinned brightly.

 

“That’s a terrible idea,” Shikamaru said with a frown.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because some of us going all out in a fight would decimate the village faster and worse than Orochimaru’s invasion.”  He gave Naruto a pointed look.

 

“I’m not sure we could have the Kazekage and a former rogue ninja fight and prevent it from becoming an international incident, either,” Chouji mused.

 

“I suppose you make a good point.”  Naruto looked crestfallen. He pushed a piece of pork around his bowl with his chopsticks.  “I guess I just miss having everyone around and not having to care about anything super important.  It feels like the only time I see some of our friends is during mission briefs or meetings.”

 

“It has been a while since we all got together,” Chouji agreed.  “Maybe we can plan something, like a reunion. Or a picnic!”

 

“Yes!  I like the sound of that.”

 

Shikamaru tried not to grimace as his brain quickly compiled a long list of logistics they would need to sort out--the venue, the food (A LOT of food), invitations (open to spouses and children? senseis and students?), tables and chairs, decorations (Ino would insist on decorations), activites (that preferably wouldn’t damage people or property), and a host of other considerations.  He had to admit, though, he did miss their friends. Jobs and families kept them all busy, and he wasn’t in the habit of scheduling social time with anyone. (How strange that socializing would need to be scheduled, as though it were an appointment or part of one’s job.) The last time they had all been together might have been Naruto’s inauguration, and he had been too busy supervising the event to really enjoy anyone’s company.  They were a rowdy bunch when they did get together, and he wouldn’t mind the chance to cut loose with people he liked.

 

Of course, finding a date that would fit everyone’s schedules would be the biggest challenge if they were actually going to go through with this.

 

Chouji and Naruto were still excitedly discussing this hypothetical picnic when a white and black bird burst into the shop and circled their heads.  When he saw it, Shikamaru’s heart sank, but he nudged the Hokage to draw his attention.

 

“It’s one of Sai’s.”  Why hadn’t it gone straight to the office like most messages and reports?  This couldn’t be good.

 

“Anyone have an empty scroll?”  When his companions shook their heads, Naruto grabbed a napkin and spread it out.  The bird nosedived and splashed onto the open space, the ink reshaping into words that all three of them read quickly.

 

A moment later they were all rushing out of Ichiraku, shouting promises to come back and pay when they were done.

 

“His return route should have taken him through the western edge of the forest,” Shikamaru relayed.  Without a word, they adjusted their course, running through the village.

 

“Should we tell Ino?” Chouji asked.

 

“I can send a shadow clone.”

 

“No, she’d just end up worrying over the worst possible scenario.  With luck, we’ll get there before there’s anything to actually worry about.”

 

Shikamaru didn’t like keeping his teammate in the dark, but he also knew her incredibly well.  If she heard Sai had been jumped by a group of rogue ninja on what should have been an easy recon mission, she’d freak out and either burst into tears or insist on coming with them.  He was not going to allow both of Inojin’s parents to be in danger at the same time, not until they had a better idea of the situation.

 

If Sai needed help, these rogues likely had an unexpected power or overwhelming numbers.  He trusted Sai to fend them off long enough for backup to arrive, but red flags were popping up in his mind over the fact that they weren’t geared for battle and had only the bare minimum of ninja tools with them.  But Sai was a comrade. He was practically family. Shikamaru wasn’t going to spare a second to detour and collect his gear.

 

Besides, he had Chouji and Naruto with him, two of the people he trusted most, both of whom he knew were excellently skilled ninja.  He was already formulating plans to play to their strengths and end this quickly.

 

“Come on,” he cried.  They sped ahead.

 

XXX

 

Shikamaru was bone tired as he trudged home that night.  His instincts had been right. They had reached Sai quickly and easily defeated the rogues, capturing a few for questioning.  Their friend had suffered mostly minor injuries, though a gash on his leg needed stitches. As expected, Ino had freaked out when she met him at the hospital, but the fact that her husband was alive and in one piece was a huge relief and tempered some of her emotions.

 

When he and Naruto finally made it back to the office, they had missed two meetings, received four urgent messages that needed replies ASAP, and lost several hours of work time.  It would take a few days to catch up again, which was a drag. Shikamaru had stayed later than usual to do what he could, but he had had difficulty focusing after the excitement of the afternoon.  He was looking forward to getting home and relaxing the rest of the night.

 

But first he had something to take care of.

 

When he pushed his way into Ichiraku, it was buzzing with customers and warmth.  His stomach growled. Having arrived during the peak of the dinner rush, it took a few minutes to catch Teuchi’s eye.

 

“Shikamaru!  What can I do for you?”

 

“I’m here to pay for my lunch.  Sorry for rushing out like that.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.  Naruto stopped by and explained everything.  I’m glad your friend is alright.”

 

“Thanks.  How much do I owe you?”

 

“Naruto already paid for everything.”

 

“He did?”

 

The ramen chef nodded.  “Your food and Chouji’s.  We’re all squared away.”

 

“Thanks,” he said, repocketing his money.

 

“Don’t thank me, thank Naruto.”

 

“I will,” he promised.  “Have a good night.”

 

As Shikamaru ducked back out into the street and resumed his walk home, he couldn’t help grinning cheekily to himself.  “And he insisted it wasn’t a date…”


End file.
